Alliance with BJP wasn’t for power but to protect Article 370: Mehbooba Mufti

People’s Democratic Party ( PDP)  president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said that the party stitched an alliance with BJP to “safeguard the special position of Jammu and Kashmir and not for power.”

“We did not form an alliance for the chair but to safeguard Article 370. For the chair, Omar sahib had offered us support,” she said while addressing a workers’ rally in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

Mufti said her party would have accepted the offer if power had been the only objective. “ But we made the government for the people”, she added. Highlighting her government’s achievement, she said around 12,000 youths were released from jails and efforts were made to bring India’s leadership to Kashmir for dialogue. “But people did not realise it and resorted to stone pelting. Did not the entire Indian leadership come to Kashmir? Did they not reach the doorstep of Geelani Sahab?” she said.

She also referred to political developments in 1996, saying that Dr Farooq Abdullah, despite having the support of 60 MLAs, had opposed talks with separatists at the time.

“He (Abdullah) said he would raise the banner of rebellion against India if talks were held with the Hurriyat”, Mufti alleged. Mufti criticised Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for “maintaining  silence” over civilian killings in Iran.  She alleged that a major attack had taken place in Iran but drew no response from him. Mufti said the US withdrew because it could not secure what it believed it could obtain despite sacrifices made by people there.

Over the recent Ganderbal incident, Mufti said, “If I had not raised the issue, it would have been suppressed,” she said, adding that LG Manoj Sinha ordered an inquiry after her party flagged the case. Referring to achievements during her tenure, Mufti said that while only one medical institute was sanctioned across the country at the time, her government secured two for Jammu and Kashmir — one each for the Jammu and Kashmir regions. Prominent among others who addressed  the rally included MLA Pulwama Waheed Parra , MLA Tral Rafiq Ahmad Nayak and former minister Abdul Rehman Veeri.